Life as head gardener at Grimsthorpe Castle - The 3,000 acre estate which featured in Netlifx's Bridgerton

Tucked away in the south Lincolnshire countryside lies a magnificent castle which featured on Netflix hit show Bridgerton. Grimsthorpe Castle, near Bourne, was granted by Henry VIII to William, Baron Willoughby de Eresby on the occasion of his marriage to Maria de Salinas, lady-in-waiting to Katherine of Aragon, in 1516.

The estate, which has remained in the Willoughby de Eresby family for 500 years, has a vast park which stretches over 3,000 acres and was landscaped by Capability Brown. The beautiful gardens surrounding the house make Grismthorpe a great place to visit for a relaxing walk - and a highly-skilled team of gardeners make sure it stays in pristine condition all year round.

Head of gardens and landscape at Grimsthorpe, Jim Handley, has more than 20 years of experience working in horticulture. Jim looks after all 70 acres of gardens, overseeing a team of six who maintain the immediate gardens around the house. He is also involved in the management of various assets of the parkland.

Read more: The lesser known Lincolnshire castle where Netflix hit series Bridgerton was filmed

The 45-year-old studied at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew and has been at Grimsthorpe for 11 years. Speaking on the biggest challenges they face at the castle, Jim said: "It's quite heavy ground so it's very wet in the winter and very dry in the summer which makes it difficult to garden on. The other main thing we're looking at is climate change regarding tree species that we're growing."

The castle recently featured in the latest series of Bridgerton. Although the gardens themselves weren't shown on screen, Jim says it has opened them up to a "whole new category of people", including the younger generation.

Gardens surround the castle on three sides. To the south, there is a formal lawn with topiary squares which contain small ornamental pools. Further from the castle, the garden becomes a semi-wild woodland garden, filled with spring bulbs.

If you venture beyond this, you will reach the walled garden where an exhibition of lettering art is on show. To the west of the castle is a long herbaceous border which provides colour during the summer months. On the east side, a formal rose parterre is lined with small box hedges, with a walled kitchen garden beyond this.

Jim couldn't decide on his favourite section of the gardens. He said: "Every section has its own unique part to play in the garden. The kitchen garden is one of our major draws for people because they get to see it develop over the year from the first seeds going in to the crops coming out.

"We've created meadows now which have increased the biodiversity in the gardens incredibly. It ranges from insect life right the way up to the predators. We have a lot of birds of prey and resident barn owls so it's quite varied now which is really good."

Jim and his team of gardeners plan months in advance and are constantly making notes, trying to create new and different things for visitors to enjoy. He said: "We definitely get more compliments than criticism. It's a nice way to get feedback and it's a good impetus for the team to keep up the good work. It's a nice place to work in that respect, because it's so big you can see what you're doing and making an impact on."

The castle welcomes visitors on selected days from March to October, offering a glimpse into centuries of history and architecture. More information can be found on Grimsthorpe Castle's website.